A Good-Hearted Woman

That would be me, mes amies. I not only passed my heart scan, I totally aced it! Zero hardened plaque in my coronary arteries. I was amazed, frankly, but thrilled. All three of us, Mary, PJ, and I left the Heart Hospital with good reports. So how did we celebrate? Lunch, of course! And at my new favorite French restaurant, where the ambiance reminds me so much of Paris.

The most important thing about the heart scan is that I now have more peace of mind about the whole dying young like my mom thing–probably dumb because I could drop over dead tomorrow. The heart scan is no guarantee that I won’t have a heart attack like my mom did, just that my risk of having one is relatively low. That truly eases my fears.

The other thing that was reinforced for me, walking out of the heart center, is that it really doesn’t matter what size I am as long as I’m healthy and I take care of myself. I eat right, I exercise, and yes, my butt is round and bodacious, but it’s okay. I’m strong, my heart is strong, and I’m kinda cute and sexy…so all in all, the heart scan was a very good idea.

One of my Facebook Friends posted this little story on his wall this week and I saved it because it spoke to me, given that I’d been worrying so much about my body.

A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman. The caption was “This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?”

The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way:

“Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness.

They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.

They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.

Mermaids do not exist.

But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality: woman or fish?

They would have no sex life and could not bear children.

Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad.

And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?

Without a doubt, I’d rather be a whale.

At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.

We women, we gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge that there isn’t enough space in our heads, and it spreads all over our bodies.

We are not fat, we are greatly cultivated.

Every time I see my curves in the mirror, I tell myself: “How amazing am I ?! ”

–originated with a Facebook post by Delphine Fieberg

Yup, that’s my new mantra whenever I pass a mirror…How amazing am I?!